Feet First
by MJOLNIR117
Summary: Humanity cannot win the war with the Covenant with what they have. Now, during the Battle for Earth, a platoon of ODSTs are determined to turn the tide of the war.
1. Regroup

**First off, let me welcome you. Secondly, I am aware of the recent increase of ODST stories caused by Bungie's latest title. I'll then forwarn you that this is not inspired by Halo 3: ODST. This is rather a tribute to the infinately BA Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and their seemingly insane missions. Anyway, here it is.

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**Chapter One: Regroup**

"Admiral Harper, sir! Incoming transmission from Lord Hood on the Cairo," the _Titan's _COMM officer said.

"Put him on Screen Two," Admiral Harper said as he surveyed the battlefield scattered between the Earth and her moon. Hundreds of gutted and destroyed vessels drifted aimlessly as the remnants of the once mighty human fleet searched for survivors.

"Admiral Harper," Hood greeted. "I'd say it's a pleasure, but we don't have time for the niceties. The Prophet of Regret just bugged out, did a slipspace jump _inside_ New Mombassa."

"How many casualties are we looking at?" Harper asked with a frown.

"Figures are still coming in, but it's in the five digit range now, but that's not why I called you." On the screen Hood started pacing, "Just before he jumped, he sent a message saying, 'Regret, Regret, Regret.' Cortana interpreted it as a call for help. If she's right, it means that-"

"We'll be having some more company over soon…" Harper finished.

"Exactly. We've lost over half of the fleet here, and the MACs aren't invincible. The only reason I'm still here is because I had the good fortune to have the Spartan here, and now he and Johnson are chasing after Regret with Keyes. We just don't have enough ships to go toe-to-toe with the Covenant if, and when, they come back for round two. So, pull the remainder of your fleet onto the dark side of the Moon, power down and wait for the Covenant to get caught up with the MACs. I have a feeling that they'll be heading to Africa again, which is bad considering that the _Cape Town_ and the _Cairo_ are the only stations still over Africa. Once they've concentrated the majority of their forces, hit 'em with a couple nukes in the back and hopefully we can hold them off."

"Roger that, Admiral. I've already relayed the orders to the rest of my ships. Good luck, Admiral," Harper finished with a salute.

"You too," Hood said as he returned the gesture. The screen cut off.

The remnants of the Seventh and Fourteenth Earth fleet rotated and aligned themselves with the Moon. The engines of a little over one hundred vessels flared in the vacuum as the ships moved to the dark side of the Moon. Some ships were leaking reactor coolant, others had run out of both MAC rounds and Archer missiles, but the remaining humans were determined to fight to the last, no matter how bitter it would be.

* * * * *

"Commander Reath, got a visitor here for you," the voice of Lieutenant First Class Claire Hutchinson called out across the cramped troop bay of the Tenth Drop Platoon.

"Fine, send him to my office. I'll be right there," Commander Kyle Reath replied, acting CO of the platoon, as he finished inspecting his BR55.

He reassembled it and then moved towards his office. As he did, he felt the deck of the Marathon-class cruiser UNSC _Titan_ shift under his feet as the ship slid to a new position. When he arrived, he found a man standing with his back towards the door and looking at the pictures of previous commanders of the Tenth Drop. On his shoulders was the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander. The man was clad in full dress. Before Kyle could get himself to attention the man said, "Your men look bored, Commander."

Kyle was caught off-guard by the sudden statement. Despite his better judgment, he said, "Anti-boarding duty isn't usually relegated to ODSTs, sir."

"Would you have preferred to drop with your fellow troopers, then?" When no answer was forth coming, the LC continued, "It might comfort you then to know that if you had you would be dead."

"Sir?" Reath replied.

"Dead, or floating around in Slipspace somewhere. Anyway, I digress." For the first time, the man turned to face the Commander. A single thought ran through Kyle's mind: _Spook._

"Ahh, I see you've figured out that I work for Naval Intelligence. I'll be blunt with you then, Commander. We've lost the war."

"Excuse me, Sir?" Kyle asked incredulously.

"We won't survive the next round with the Covenant. I trust you to already have known that fact, whether you were willing to believe it or not. We simply cannot win with what we have. Too few ships, too few Marines, too little time.

"There is however, an alternative. There is currently a Covenant Assualt Cruiser parked a quarter of the way to Mars. Onboard, we believe there to be a Covenant Minor Prophet." The spook let the statement hang in the air.

"You want us to go get him?" the Commander asked.

"No. Even better. I want you capture the entire cruiser, fly it to Earth, and then proceed to bomb the living Hell out of anything that is not human once you get back."

"How would we do that? And shouldn't you have gone to the Admiral with this plan?"

"I came to you because I knew that only a Helljumper would be crazy enough. You would accomplish your objective by inserting this chip into the Cruiser's mainframe," the spook said as he produced a memory card the size of Kyle's thumb.

"How would we board it?"

"I'll leave that in your capable hands, Commander."

* * * * *

"What is it, Commander?" Admiral Harper asked.

"Sir, it has been brought to my attention that there is a Covenant Assault Cruiser in the local vicinity."

Admiral Harper's eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at, Commander?"

"Sir, requesting permission to board the enemy vessel."

"What! We're a couple hundred thousand kilometers distant! We wouldn't even be able to approach it before it fried us. Why should I sacrifice my last and best line of defense on a suicide run?"

"Sir, it's the only way we would be able to stave off the inevitable Covenant counterattack. There are only two outcomes: we succeed and maybe win the war, or we fail, in which case it won't matter because we'll all die anyway," Kyle said.

The Admiral was quiet for a moment and then said, "Say I approve this insane mission. How would you go about executing it? I have no more Pelicans available to me."

"Sir, we're Helljumpers. We go feet first."

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**And there you have it. This is just part one, though don't expect it to become a full-fledged story. Another chapter, maybe two or three if you're lucky, will follow, but that'll be it. If you've made it this far, I'm going to assume you've read it, so please leave a review or a comment.**


	2. Ten

**Welcome back! I know, this chapter is a little on the short side, but I wanted to fill in on some of the back history of the Tenth Drop Platoon that we will be seeing in action very shortly. Also, included in this chapter is the reveal of the brave Commander's plan.**

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**Chapter Two: Ten  
**  
Silence reigned for a brief moment as the Commander's words sunk in on the Admiral. The Admiral clearly understood what Kyle had meant, because his next exclamation was so loud, the other troopers in the drop bay heard, despite the sound proof door.

"WHAT!! You want to use your drop pods like boarding craft?!"

"Sir, I know it seems cr-" the Commander begun, before being cut off by Admiral Harper.

"You're damn right it sounds crazy! Has anything like this even been attempted before?" He queried. Before Kyle could answer, the Admiral was speaking again. "Do you know how close I would have to get to even get a one in a million chance of landing you on the Covenant Ship?

"Sir, we don't have an option. If you get us close enough to drop, and we succeed in taking the cruiser, we could change the war right here. Wouldn't the sacrifice of the _Titan_ be worth it?"

"And if you fail, Commander?"

"Then it won't matter how the _Titan_ gets destroyed because she will burn right alongside the rest of the Earth."

Admiral Harper was quiet for a moment and then sighed like a man resigned to his fate. Despite his concerns, the Admiral knew Kyle was right. Humanity was swirling down the drain, and only a miracle could save it. Commander Reath and his men might just be able to produce that miracle.

"Alright, Commander. You've got your green light. I'll inform the rest of the ship and fleet on this…development," Harper said as he sighed again. "Good luck Commander and it's been an honor," Harper said as he saluted his ODST Company Commander.

"Thank you sir. I'll send you the plan I have drawn up within five minutes," Kyle reached for the button that would end the conversation, but before he could press it, the Admiral said, "Oh and Commander? You tell that damned ONI spook in your office that he had better get off my ship before I find him." The screen went black.

Kyle turned around to where the spook had been standing; only to find the spot empty, as if no one had ever been there.

* * * * *

Commander Kyle Reath found himself staring at the wall of previous commanders of the Tenth Drop when his attention was caught by a knock on his office door. "Come in," he called.

First Lieutenant Claire Hutchinson stepped into his office and said, as she closed the door, "Time 'til contact is 15 hours."

"Sometimes, I find myself wondering if my worst enemy is the Covenant or the vast distances of space…" Kyle said.

"Agreed sir. Waiting is the worst part of the mission," his XO said. She sat down and the two enjoyed a moment of companionable silence. She broke it by muttering the thing Kyle had been dreading, "It's your tenth drop isn't it?"

He paused for a moment and then nodded and said, "For the past twenty seven years, this company has been cursed…" He gave a dry laugh. "It'll be your command after this mission."

"Kyle, don't say that. You're going to make it," Claire put in weakly.

He only laughed again, "I said the same thing to Captain Anderson. We were about to board the evac bird. He insisted on being the last one on, as would any commander. He put one foot on the "blood tray" and then a Jackal blew his brains out...

"When we did our first drop against the Covenant on Harvest twenty-seven years ago, our CO was killed. It was his tenth drop…" Kyle knew that the Lieutenant knew the story as well as all the rest of the platoon, but his previous commanding officer had told him the exact same thing before his tenth drop. "Ever since then, no CO has made it to their eleventh drop." He glanced up at the portraits again. Soon, his picture would be hanging there too, if humanity made it past the next few days.

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**"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is." I wanted to show that in this chapter by showing that even though the assault plan was drawn up and ready to go, the vast distances of space prevent it from being implemented immediately. Also, I wanted to bring an interesting bit of history into play. Will our young Commander survive and break the curse that has been on his platoon for 27 years, or will he be just another photo on the wall? Please tell me what you think since I haven't made up my own mind on the matter.**

**Thanks to Electromotive Force for beta'ing this chapter for me.**

Thanks for reading and please leave a review, or at least a comment.

P.S. Expect action soon.


	3. Boarding Action

**Well, I'm back. I'm terribly sorry for the long delay. I ran into a bad case of writer's block with how to proceed. Then, just as I figured it out, my teachers realized they were running out of school time, and decided to pile stuff on us. And then Halo Wars came out. Anyway, enough of my troubles. Here is the next installment of **_**Feet First**_**.

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Chapter Three: Boarding Action  
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"We drop in sixty! Pod up!" Kyle yelled into the mass of ODSTs. Within thirty seconds, all the troopers were in their HEVs and prepped for boarding action. Kyle looked around the deserted drop bay one last time and then rushed to his own drop pod. He strapped himself in and waited for the jolt of release.

* * * * *

The Marathon class cruiser _UNSC Titan_ did a barrel role as she shot past two of the ten Covenant destroyers escorting the battle cruiser. Her engines roared into life as her five escorting destroyers unleashed a volley of MAC rounds and Archer missiles at the Covenant duo. The UNSC escorts then followed the _Titan_ towards their objective.

Ahead of them, the assault carrier loomed, dwarfing even the mighty _Titan_. A plasma battery flashed as it fired on the incoming UNSC battle group. Two things played in favor of the UNSC forces. The angle at which they were incoming prevented the Covenant from bringing the full force of their weapons to bear against the UNSC forces. They were also approaching the Covenant battle cluster at well over a tenth of the speed of light. The relativistic affects on the UNSC vessels made it nearly impossible for the Covenant to accurately target them. The down side was that the ODSTs would suffer from _extreme_ g-forces on drop unless the _Titan_ decelerated a lot. The destroyers escorting the _Titan_ pulled ahead and fired their MAC guns in an attempt to lower the battle cruiser's shields. If the shields were still up when the ODSTs dropped, the mission would fail before they even landed.

Five minutes from contact, Admiral Harper ordered, "New course, bearing one-eight-zero degrees. Declination point five degrees. Full forward thrust. Fire aft emergency thrusters." The _Titan_ spun on her axis so that she was flying backwards. He engines fired full throttle trying to slow the massive warship. They were approaching the carrier now, but Admiral Harper blanched when he saw the ship's shields were still up. He glanced at his tac-map and saw that only one destroyer was still in engagement range. He hailed the ship, the UNSC_ Eisenhower._ "_Eisenhower_, I need you to take those shields out NOW!"

No acknowledgment came from the _Eisenhower_, and Harper was about to repeat the order when he saw the tiny destroyer turn from a course parallel to the assault carrier to one that was perpendicular. "No…" Harper whispered as the _Eisenhower_ accelerated towards the carrier. The tiny destroyer slammed into the carrier at such a speed that she disintegrated upon impact into a mass ball of fire that lasted but a few seconds in the vacuum of space. Silence reigned over the bridge for a moment, then one of the bridge officers said in a quiet voice, "Systems report the shields of the enemy carrier is down."

"Roger that," was all that Admiral Harper could manage. The _Titan_ flashed by the hull of the carrier, but managed to release her precious cargo. As _Titan_ went past the carrier, Harper saw the massive weapons batteries charge up and release their pent up plasma. Now that the _Titan_ had passed the carrier, she was in a perfect lane of fire.

"Godspeed, Commander," he whispered.

The _Titan_ disappeared in a flash of blue light as she entered Slipspace. By the time they managed to return to Earth, the war would be over, one way or another. All Harper could do was hope that the sacrifice of the _Eisenhower_ and ODSTs he had just dropped would be worth it.

* * * * *

There was a jarring shock as the drop pod slammed into the side of the assault carrier. The explosive charges blew the hatch off of Kyle's HEV and sent it spinning into space. As he emerged, he saw other drop pods around him, their occupants clambering out and securing themselves to the hull.

The voice of Lieutenant Hutchinson came over the comm. "All chalks: report in."

In quick unison, each chalk reported in. There was a pause as Echo squad's CO failed to report in. "Echo lead, report," Kyle said.

"This is Echo Two. The el-tee missed the DZ," Echo squad's sergeant came over Kyle's private frequency. Kyle closed his eyes. There was no worse way for an ODST to go. A failed drop over ground meant that you didn't have long to curse your lot in life. Echo's lieutenant would float in space for an hour and a half, watching his oxygen slowly dwindle and then he would asphyxiate slowly in the cold vacuum of space as his blood boiled. Kyle shook the image out of his mind and turned on the company command freq.

"Alright boys and girls, NAV marker is now on objective. Rendezvous there. Intel reports it's a hangar bay, so expect heavy resistance." Kyle instructed his men. It took the platoon a little over two minutes to reach the lip of the hangar bay. Kyle poked a fiber optic cable around the edge and saw utter pandemonium. Inside the hangar, Grunts and Jackals ran around by the dozens. A few Elites were also present in the hangar, trying to get a reign on the chaos. Kyle flashed a few hand signals and his troopers moved to position themselves "above" the floor of the hangar bay. They attached a series of rappel lines and hooked themselves up, readying to rappel into the hangar. The largest concern Kyle had at this moment was the disorientation his men would suffer as they went from having a floor beneath them to hanging fifty feet up as they entered the artificial gravity field produced by the ship.

"Go, go, go," Kyle said into his mic. The first wave of troopers dropped over the edge, and rappelled through the hangar bay's energy field. Kyle was among the second wave to drop in. When he touched the deck, he raised his rifle, searching for targets and for cover. The Elite overseers were dead, and so were a majority of the Grunts and Jackals. A few Jackal were holed up in the eastern half of the hangar, but they weren't a priority at the moment. "Alpha, Bravo, and Delta, secure all entrances to the hangar. Charlie team, get rid of those Jackals. Echo, rendezvous at checkpoint Zulu," Kyle ordered across the company freq. It took a minute for the four teams to accomplish their assigned jobs. For Alpha, Bravo, and Delta teams, it involved placing thermite strips on three of the four doors leading into and out of the hangar and welding them shut. For Charlie team, it simply involved a couple grenades.

After all the teams had regrouped at the sole remaining working door, Kyle gave his men one last look-over. "Status report," Kyle barked out.

"Two injuries, no KIA," Hutchinson came back over the com. The announcement caught Kyle off guard. Things were going too well. They had engaged over fifteen targets, two of them Elites. Kyle had honestly expected to lose at least one man in the engagement.

"Alright, we go in hard and fast. We head for the bridge. Alpha, Bravo and Echo squads will go with me straight to the main entrance. Charlie and Delta will go to the auxiliary entrance now marked on your HUDs. Charlie team leader has command. Good luck."

The fifty man company advanced through the door, weapons raised. When they reached the first corridor branching off to their right, Charlie and Delta teams broke off fluidly, trying to circle the bridge and come in on a flank. Alpha, Bravo and Echo advanced through the empty corridors of the gigantic carrier for nearly five minutes and still they didn't come in contact with any hostiles.

"Somthin's not right here…" a private from Bravo said over the local frequency.

"Cut the chatter," Kyle said, halting any further conversation. He held up his fist, signaling the three teams to stop. "Charlie team, sit-rep."

A burst of static came over the mic, and then the voice of Charlie team's leader came over the com. "Nothing to report sir. Seems like a ghost ship. We've had no contact with any hostiles."

"Roger that, Charlie. Proceed as planned."

Kyle glanced around and then gave the move up signal. As one, the three teams rose and advanced to the next bend. They turned the corner, and froze. In the corridor before them was a bizarre sight. Five Elite bodies were on the ground, apparently dead. The squad halted, waiting for an order. Kyle beckoned to one of Alpha team's men, who crouch-walked to Kyle's position.

"Sir?"

"I need you to go check it out."

"Yes sir."

The ODST advanced slowly and cautiously. When he got to the nearest Elite's body he straightened up and prodded the body with his boot. His boot stopped a millimeter from the armor of the Elite. The ODST instantly raised his rifle as he shouted, "Shields are still up!" He prepared to squeeze the trigger of his rifle as the rest of the teams behind his brought their rifles to bear. He, however, was too close, and managed to only get off a few rounds as the Elite sprang up and stabbed a now ignited energy sword through the ODST. As the soldier's body fell to the ground, the Elite, now standing upright, roared at the ODSTs down the hall way. Behind him, the other Elites rose, some sporting energy swords, others plasma rifles. They charged. The mass fire that erupted from the barrels of thirty rifles was overwhelming in the close confines of the hallway. So much fire was concentrated on the five Elites that they didn't manage to get more than a few steps.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. Kyle gave a series of hand signals and sent Alpha squad forward to police the bodies. While they were doing so, he opened up the comm. channel to Charlie and Delta squads. "Charlie, be advised. There are active hostiles onboard. We just encountered a trap with Elites pretending to be dead."

"Uhh, roger that sir. Thanks for the heads up. We just found one such trap. Hold one, sir." Over the comm. Kyle could hear gunshots and the roar of an Elite as Charlie and Delta teams turned the tables on their would-be ambushers.

"All clear sir," Charlie team's leader spoke up again. "Advancing as planned."

"Roger that. Keep me posted," Kyle said. He advanced up the place of the ambush. The wounded trooper was lying on the ground, his helmet removed. As Kyle walked up, the medic who was present looked at Kyle and shook his head. The medic then closed the man's eyes and pulled his dog tags off, putting them in a pouch.

"Keep moving," Kyle said. "We're not leaving him behind. Private Jackson, grab the Staff Sergeant."

The three teams made it to the next corner when another call came over the com. "This is Charlie lead. We've got a problem sir."

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"We've got enemy non-combatants onboard."

**And that's it for now. What will happen to the Covenant civilians? When will our troopers reach the bridge? WILL they reach the bridge? Find out next time!**

**Please, please, please leave a comment, or if you really want to make my day, a review. A review would be even better.**


	4. A Job Well Done

**Hey, guys. Well, here it is the next installment of Feet First. Sorry for the long wait.**

**

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"We've got enemy non-combatants onboard."

Kyle was frozen for a moment. Humanity had never before encountered Covenant civilians…

"Are you absolutely sure, Lieutenant?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, sir. One hundred and ten percent, sir. About two dozen, all Elites. They look like kids and females."

Kyle glanced over at his XO. Claire was also patched into the command frequency, so she knew the situation. They locked eyes for a moment, at least they would have had their visors not been obscuring their faces. She looked away. Kyle knew that the following decision would lie entirely on his shoulders. If they managed to get the civvies back to HIGHCOM, humanity might be able to learn countless things about how the Covenant hierarchy worked, what their caste system was outside of their military. On the other hand, he couldn't spare a guard detail for twenty-four Covenant civilians. Besides, how many times had the Covenant killed human civilians…

Kyle breathed in. "You are weapons free, Lieutenant."

* * *

"Aye aye sir," Lieutenant Chuck Thornston, Charlie Lead, said. He looked into the room his two teams had stumbled into. Clustered inside were two dozen Elites, clothed in robes and tunics. At least six of them were youngsters, coming only to the Lieutenant's waist. He looked to his left where Staff Sergeant O'Reilly stood. Chuck made a slashing gesture across his throat with his left hand as he unholstered his M6C/SOCOM sidearm. He looked back at the Elites. The foremost Elite was clearly a female. In front of her stood what Chuck assumed to be her son. He locked eyes with her. He knew that she probably couldn't speak English, or any human language for that matter, but he saw the pleading in her eyes.

He flicked the safety off.

The young Elite stormed forward, trying to grab the pistol. Chuck grabbed the youth's wrist and spun him around so that his arm was pinned behind him and he was looking back into the room. Chuck placed the pistol against the back of the young Elite's head and pulled the trigger. He looked up and saw that the mother Elite was crying. He put a bullet between her eyes. Beside him, Sergeant O'Reilly opened up with his MA5C. Within a few seconds all twenty-four Elites lay dead.

"It's done sir," Chuck said over the comm.

"Roger that. Continue on to the objective," the Commander came back.

Chuck strode out of the room. As he holstered his M6C, he noticed that his hands were shaking.

* * *

Kyle forced the order he had just given out of his head. It wouldn't do to be plagued by guilt over it. He had to ensure the mission was completed, and then get his men out of here. He gave the order to move out and the fire teams forged onward to the bridge. It was close. He turned the corner, and there it was. He held up his hand to signal the rest of his men to hold position. He opened up the TEAMCOM channel. "Ramirez, get up here and get this door open."

"Aye, aye, sir," the trooper replied. He attached a pad to the door's control panel and tapped a few buttons. He looked back at the Commander.

"Alpha Lead, Charlie here. We're in position.

Kyle looked back at his teams. Claire nodded curtly. He tapped the open button and threw in two flashbang grenades. His visor polarized to prevent him from going blind and his helmet's audio sensors cancelled out the band to prevent hearing loss. Ramirez swung into the bridge, Kyle right behind him, weapons raised. There were two dozen Grunts running around the place. They were quickly dispatched. The problem came when two Hunters lumbered around the command pedestal.

"Hit the deck!" Kyle called out.

Ramirez was already on the deck when the Hunters opened fire. They fired right down the open hatchway that Kyle's men were coming through.

Screams filled the company's radio frequency.

"Charlie! HIT 'EM!"

On the opposite side of the bridge, a door blew inwards. A trooper ran through the smoke and crouched, an Em-Forty-One SSR MAV/AW aimed at the Hunters. He fired off a rocket. The 102mm Shaped-Charge High Explosive flew into the back of the farthest Hunter. In the confines of the bridge the over-pressure wave was incredible, its effects even more so. Kyle, Ramirez, and the few troopers who had managed to make it through the door were flung head-over-heels across the bridge.

For a moment, everything was silent. Kyle couldn't tell if it was because there was no sound, or if it was because he couldn't hear. Slowly, a ringing filled his ears. He pushed himself up and looked around. ODSTs were scattered all over the place. One Hunter was blown to bits, it's worm-like insides smeared over the walls, floors, and the troopers. The other was completely gone. Kyle slumped backwards and closed his eyes. Everything hurt. A shadow passed over his eyes. He opened them and saw a sneering Elite towering over him, energy sword in hand. It raised its arm and the sword started to come down. Kyle thought, so this is how it ends. The next moment a black blur tackled the Elite. Kyle rolled over and saw an ODST wrestling with the Elite, combat knife in hand. The trooper slashed his hand over the Elite's sword hand, severing its two fingers. The sword flew from its hand and landed a few feet away from Kyle. He crawled to it and wrapped his hand around the too-large hilt. He could feel the heat of the plasma through his suit. He staggered to his feet.

"Commander! Kill the bastard! Do IT!" the trooper shouted. Kyle now recognized the voice as Charlie Lead, Lieutenant Chuck Thornston. While Kyle had picked up the sword, Chuck had gotten the Elite in a headlock. For the moment he had the Elite subdued, but it was quickly changing. Kyle ran over and swung the sword, cutting through the Elite's neck, cutting its head off… and taking the Lieutenant's arm with it.

Chuck's scream was drowned out by the blood flowing from the Elite's neck. Kyle heaved the dead body off of his comrade. He started reaching for his field bandage, but stopped when he saw no blood. The heat from the sword had cauterized the wound.

"Go check on the others," the Lieutenant moaned.

Kyle loped over to the hatchway. He could count twenty bodies scattered all over the place. At least half of them were dead. At least ten troopers must have been vaporized by the Hunters' blasts. Two ODSTs were delivering triage to the rest of the wounded troopers. He saw Claire kneeled over a trooper. She glanced up and caught his eyes, but quickly looked down again. Kyle moved back to the central pedestal in the bridge. He reached into his pack and took out the data-chip that the spook had given him. He inserted it into the slot on the pedestal. A figure sprang to life on the pedestal. Once look and Kyle knew he was looking at an AI. This one was dressed like a Spartan and not one of those super-freaks. A purely human Spartan from Ancient Greece, complete with spear and shield.

"Commander," the AI said curtly. "Your men did their task well. Now let me do mine." The figure vanished. Kyle felt the deck tilt under his feet. They were headed home, for better or for worse.

* * *

**Well, there it is. You can expect one more chapter and I promise it won't take as long. Please review on the way out.**


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